{"id":23119,"date":"2020-06-16T03:00:03","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T10:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=23119"},"modified":"2020-06-11T08:37:45","modified_gmt":"2020-06-11T15:37:45","slug":"making-it-happen-characters-with-agency-by-kay-keppler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/16\/making-it-happen-characters-with-agency-by-kay-keppler\/","title":{"rendered":"Making It Happen: Characters with Agency by Kay Keppler"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Making<\/a>Let\u2019s welcome back monthly columnist, editor, and novelist, Kay Keppler<\/a>, as she shares with us \u201cMaking It Happen: Characters with Agency.” Enjoy! <\/em><\/p>\n

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At its heart, a traditional story is fairly simple.<\/strong> It goes like this.<\/span><\/p>\n

You create a main character, a protagonist, who has an important goal. You create an antagonist, who has a different goal, equally important, that clashes with the protagonist\u2019s goal. That clash as these characters interact and do their best to thwart each other, is your conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n

It sounds so easy!<\/strong> But of course, it isn\u2019t, and one reason is because it can be difficult to separate character goals from motivations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The goal\u2014no matter what it is\u2014is something that the character has to have at all costs. It could be developing a life-saving vaccine or learning to swim. It doesn\u2019t matter. The goal propels the action.<\/span><\/p>\n

Motivation Defines Character<\/span><\/h2>\n

The reason your protagonist wants the goal is her motivation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say our young protagonist\u2019s goal is to learn to swim. Her motivation tells readers why.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe the cute boy from math class is enrolled in the class<\/strong>, or maybe she wants an hour away from her parents, who are in the middle of a divorce, or maybe she wants to do even one thing her big sister can\u2019t do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her motivation defines her character, but her specific goal\u2014learning to swim\u2014drives the story.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Motivation\u2014your character arc\u2014is internal; the goal\u2014your plot arc\u2014is external.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Characters with Agency: In Action with A Clear Goal\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Motivation is your character sitting and thinking; the goal is your protagonist in action.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The goal,<\/strong> and your character\u2019s striving for it, is what gives your story motion, what keeps your conflict active and interesting.<\/span><\/p>\n

So when you\u2019re shaping your protagonist\u2019s goals, they should be pursuits, not avoidances; positive, not negative.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What does s\/he want more than anything?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Make it a positive goal: She wants to learn to swim.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The actions that she takes in the pursuit of this goal are your plot.<\/strong> When she strives for something; she\u2019s driving her own destiny. She has agency, and that makes her interesting. You want to root for her.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, watch out for negative goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Negative goals are character statements like<\/strong> \u201cI don\u2019t want\u2026\u201d or \u201cI want to make sure this never happens again.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Negative goals make your protagonist more passive and a lot less interesting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of \u201cI want to learn to swim,\u201d<\/strong> which is a positive goal, our aspiring swimmer might say, \u201cI don\u2019t want to sit around all summer and be bored.\u201d That\u2019s a negative goal, and story-wise, there\u2019s no place you can go with that. Both you and your characters will flounder, looking for something to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why Stories Often Bog Down<\/span><\/h2>\n

Stories often bog down because the conflict falters, and that happens because we lose sight of our character\u2019s goal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If that happens to you, see if you can break the goal into intermediate steps or scenes that can be achieved (and thwarted) step by step.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this case:<\/strong><\/p>\n

[MAIN GOAL] Our hopeful swimmer, let\u2019s call her Meg, wants to learn to swim.<\/span><\/p>\n

[setback] Her parents say that Meg has to earn the money for swimming lessons herself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[INTERMEDIATE GOAL] She can earn the money babysitting.<\/span><\/p>\n

[setback] Her sister, Susan, takes away her steady babysitting job\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[INTERMEDIATE GOAL] Meg can get another babysitting job! She advertises her services in the local newspaper and gets a new job that pays more.<\/span><\/p>\n

[setback] Susan takes Meg\u2019s savings and buys a sweater with it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[INTERMEDIATE GOAL] Meg returns the sweater to the store to get the money back.<\/span><\/p>\n

[setback] When she speaks to the store clerk, she doesn\u2019t have the receipt and the clerk thinks she stole it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And so on. Notice that motivation does not enter into the action at all. No sitting and thinking for our Meg!<\/span><\/p>\n

Actions Drive Story\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The actions of your characters drive your story.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If your characters are passive or have negative goals<\/strong>\u2014or their actions are off the page or you get bogged down in motivation instead\u2014your story will slow to a standstill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you let Meg mope around until her parents decide they can afford swimming lessons after all, readers might feel sorry for her, but they probably won\u2019t invest any time or emotion in her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Readers have to care about your characters.<\/strong> They have to worry about them and want to find out what they do next. And that\u2019s why our Meg must try and fail and try again.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/h2>\n

\"On<\/a>Kay Keppler<\/a> is an author Zero Gravity Outcasts<\/a><\/em>, Betting on Hope<\/a><\/em>, Gargoyle: Three Enchanting Romance Novellas<\/a><\/em>, and editor of fiction and nonfiction \u2013Angel\u2019s Kiss<\/a><\/em> and Outsource It<\/em>!<\/p>\n

She lives in northern California. Contact her here at Writer\u2019s Fun Zone in the comments below, or at kaykeppler@yahoo.com<\/a> to ask questions, suggest topics, or if you prefer, complain.<\/p>\n

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More popular articles by Kay Keppler on Writer’s Fun Zone:<\/strong><\/p>\n